Serene. Neptune imparts a feeling of regal calm in this image. I'm glad to be in a time period that allows us, to see our solar system and its realm in these historic and personal ways. Thanks Indu, for the wonderful series....:)

The interchanging of positions was not known to me before. And thanks for sharing the sound. It was like watching a space movie, only this sound is authentic. I have heard about Ketu's 'killer' powers too, but if it is so far from the Earth, would it really be able to influence our lives so much?

Hello Indu-ji. I enjoyed you article, but as far as Vedic Astrology tells us, Ketu is not Neptune. Actually Ketu is the name of the Descending Node of the Moon, which is also called Cauda Draconis in western traditional astrology, meaning "the dragon's tail".

In Vedic Astrology, as well as in traditional western astrology, Neptune isn't used just like any other 'modern' planets (including Uranus, Pluto, etc).

However, in a way, you ARE right... because Neptune and Ketu (the South Node) are very similar in both symbolism and meanings, and the same happens between Uranus and vedic Rahu (the North Lunar Node). This curious connection is a very interesting subject and it sheds a great light on the origin of the meanings of Modern Planets. Anyway, for now this should suffice. =)

Many thanks for the warm welcome! And sorry for only answering your message 1 year and a half later... hehe :P

My personal theory is that the correspondences, characteristics and symbolism of the Modern Planets (western perspective) was directly taken from the Lunar Nodes (vedic perspective). It doesn't take much to comprehend that Uranus is very much like Rahu, and Neptune is very similar to Ketu.

- Uranus' domicile is Aquarius, which is the exaltation sign of Rahu, in Vedic Astrology. They're similar in terms of being shocking, rebellious, unpredictable, and governing things like electricity and ultra-modern technologies.

- Neptune rules over Pisces, the Fish(es). Ketu is specially connected to Matsya, the Fish Avatar of Lord Vishnu. Also, Ketu is very much connected to Pisces and the 12th house of Moksha, according to vedic astrologers.

Besides all this, you should note that in Vedic Numerology, each number from 1 to 9 has a ruling planet. The numbers and ruling planets are divided into three groups that correspond to the 3 Gunas: Sattva (1-2-3), Rajas (5-6), and Tamas (8-9). The numbers marking the border between these groups (4 & 7) are ruled by the Lunar Nodes.

- 1 is ruled by the Sun;- 2 by the Moon;- 3 by Jupiter.- 4 by RAHU (North Node);- 5 by Mercury;- 6 by Venus;- 7 by KETU (South Node);- 8 by Saturn;- and finally, 9 by Mars.

And now this is the most interesting part. Do you know what are the ruling planets of 4 & 7, in modern western numerology?

- Number 4 is ruled by Uranus (vedic Rahu);- and Number 7 is ruled by Neptune (vedic Ketu).